The Two-Year Itch?

You may have caught this in this week's edition of MeetingsNet Extra e-newsletter, but I'll post it here, too. I feel strongly about this.

Anyone else wondering just what’s going on with PCMA these days? First there was the sexual discrimination lawsuit naming its then-COO, and his subsequent firing, back in 1998. Two years later, 17-year PCMA veteran Roy Evans, Jr., retires, to be replaced as CEO by David DuBois. Two years later, DuBois is out, and David Kushner takes over. And now, a little more than two years later, David Kushner is asked to leave the CEO seat five months before his contract is up. In the meantime, we’ve seen big turnovers in staff, including the loss of PCMA’s longtime editor, Peter Shure, and other key employees.

What we are told after their contracts weren’t renewed is that both Davids were hired to take one step, but weren’t quite right to take the next one. I understand the need to be nice, but it stretches credulity to be asked to think that PCMA hires its CEOs as one-trick ponies who are only capable of moving the headquarters from Birmingham, Ala., to Chicago, DuBois’ crowning achievement, according to officials at the time of his ouster. The PCMA board must have believed Kushner was capable of doing more than preparing a new strategic plan he then wouldn’t be able to implement, or they wouldn’t have hired him in the first place.

C’mon guys, we’re not stupid—if you wanted a one-trick pony, you wouldn’t be taking on Deborah Sexton. Just from my experience interviewing her, it’s obvious that she can handle just about anything you throw at her, and then some.

Honesty. Transparency. Accountability. That’s what we’re demanding of the leaders of the corporate world these days. Members of our industry associations deserve nothing less of the organizations they support. I hope that Sexton will put an end to PCMA’s apparent two-year itch and lead it into a new era of openness.

To comment on this post, click on "comments" below. To receive a weekly update, e-mail Sue.

You may have caught this in this week's edition of MeetingsNet Extra e-newsletter, but I'll post it here, too. I feel strongly about this.

Anyone else wondering just what’s going on with PCMA these days? First there was the sexual discrimination lawsuit naming its then-COO, and his subsequent firing, back in 1998. Two years later, 17-year PCMA veteran Roy Evans, Jr., retires, to be replaced as CEO by David DuBois. Two years later, DuBois is out, and David Kushner takes over. And now, a little more than two years later, David Kushner is asked to leave the CEO seat five months before his contract is up. In the meantime, we’ve seen big turnovers in staff, including the loss of PCMA’s longtime editor, Peter Shure, and other key employees.

What we are told after their contracts weren’t renewed is that both Davids were hired to take one step, but weren’t quite right to take the next one. I understand the need to be nice, but it stretches credulity to be asked to think that PCMA hires its CEOs as one-trick ponies who are only capable of moving the headquarters from Birmingham, Ala., to Chicago, DuBois’ crowning achievement, according to officials at the time of his ouster. The PCMA board must have believed Kushner was capable of doing more than preparing a new strategic plan he then wouldn’t be able to implement, or they wouldn’t have hired him in the first place.

C’mon guys, we’re not stupid—if you wanted a one-trick pony, you wouldn’t be taking on Deborah Sexton. Just from my experience interviewing her, it’s obvious that she can handle just about anything you throw at her, and then some.

Honesty. Transparency. Accountability. That’s what we’re demanding of the leaders of the corporate world these days. Members of our industry associations deserve nothing less of the organizations they support. I hope that Sexton will put an end to PCMA’s apparent two-year itch and lead it into a new era of openness.

To comment on this post, click on "comments" below. To receive a weekly update, e-mail Sue.